CHAPTER NINTEEN- Inside the Library
"Someone," Future Regina glanced at Kendra, "better start talking!"
Regina took a step towards Kendra, but Killian blocked her with his sword.
"Kendra, love, what happened?"
Kendra took a deep breath in. She was going to just spit it all out as fast as possible. "Well…I may have opened a time portal while Colette and I were out sailing. I got upset and it just sort of…happened. I don't know how, but I did. They," gesturing towards future Killian, Emma, Belle, and Regina, "came through when it opened. They are from nineteen years ago, and we are just trying to get them back home."
Future Regina, Robin, Emma, and Killian were glancing back and forth between Kendra and their future selves. But Kendra just kept talking.
"We went to Henry's first to see if he could help, and he said that we should check in the library. Time travel has only been done a couple of times, so it is kind of a hard to come by subject. We then realized the ball was tonight and we couldn't just have your past selves just waltz right in. So, their Regina disguised them and they went to the ball while Colette looked for the right book. Rumplestiltskin walked in on her while she was flipping through what she had found. When we walked in to meet Colette here, Belle saw Rumplestiltskin, got upset and ran out. Colette got upset when she saw that he knew her mother, and lost control of her powers. Rumplestiltskin told her that he was her father and she ran out of the room, and then you showed up. The end." Kendra just looked at her future parents with a straight face.
Everyone in the room just stood there blinking at Kendra, even Oliver. No one knew quite the right words to say.
"Well are you just going to stand there, or are you going to help us find something in these books that can get them back home?" Kendra asked, putting her hands on her hips.
"Aye, of course we can help, love. We need them to get back to their own time just as much as you do," future Killian forced a smile at his daughter.
"Okay then. We should probably split into groups to get this done faster. Mom, dad, and past mom and dad take the stack over there." Kendra pointed them towards a large stack of books in the east corner of the library. "Robin and both Reginas take the stack over there." Kendra signaled them towards the stack of books in the west corner. "Oliver, Past Belle, and I will take the books in the north end."
Everyone split up and began sorting through the countless magic books, trying to find anything related to time travel.
In the west end of the library future Robin and Regina were sorting the books into three neat separate stacks to sort through. Past Regina couldn't take her eyes off of Robin.
"So, I assume you have some questions." Future Regina glanced at her younger self.
"To be honest there is only one I truly care about getting the answer to. When did you," she nodded towards Robin, "come back, and why?"
"Well, after Roland and I left we settled in a small town not an hour's walk outside of Storybrooke. Marian and I tried to live as normally as possible, for Roland's sake. But, about five months after we had left Marian ended up meeting someone in town and I let her go to pursue her own happy ending. We learned that the Storybrooke's curse on the town line had been removed about two months after Marian had met him, but Roland and I wanted to return. She wanted Roland to stay with me, believing that it would be better for him. We returned just over a month before Oliver was born."
"So, Marian didn't come back to the Enchanted Forest with everyone?"
"No, but she does have a mirror, which you gave to her, that is connected with one that we have at our camp that allows her and Roland to talk to and see each other. She has still watched him grow up."
"Okay, that is all I needed to know." Future Regina smiled as she flipped through the pages of magic book after magic book, glad that she would get to see her Robin again soon. As long as she had him in the end nothing else mattered. She would actually get her happy ending.
In the east end of the library, there was no order to looking through the piles of books. Past and future Emma and Killian just kept exchanging awkward glances.
"Good to see that I still look rather dashing in the future. Eh, Swan?" Past Killian tried lightening the uneasy mood.
"Just surprised to see that you can age, Killian." Past Emma winked at her pirate. Killian gave her a friendly punch on the shoulder.
Future Killian put his arm around future Emma. They just smiled at each other, watching their younger selves.
"Believe me when I tell you, mate, raising Henry, Neal, and the twins under one roof, even a very large roof, can age anyone."
"Especially when you get surprises like this every once and a while. But, they always keep life…interesting." Future Emma sighed.
"When have our lives ever been boring?" past Emma joked.
All of them started laughing. Kendra waltzed up to her parent's table of books.
"I may be way over there, but I can still hear you!" Kendra raised her eyebrows.
"Sorry, love, we were just kidding. Did you find anything?" Future Killian asked.
"Aye, it looks like we may have a way to get everyone back to their own time."